Water-current motor.



PATENTED JULY 14, 1908. -J. H. RISOHE. WATER CURRENT MOTOR.

APPLICATION FILED FEB.12, 1906.

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No. 893,375. PATENTED JULY 14, 1908'. r J. H.'RISGHE.

WATER CURRENT MOTOR.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 12. 1906.

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4\ 9 6,. In x i w No. 893,375. P'ATENTED JULY 14% 1908.

J. H. RISGHE.

WATER CURRENT MOTOR.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 12, 1906.

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IINITED STATES ATENT FFIQE.

WATER-CURRENT MOTOR.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 14, 1908.

Application filed February 12, 1906. Serial No. 300,584.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN H. Rrsonn, a citizen of the United States, residing at Bellevue, in the county of Sarpy and State of Nebraska, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Tater-Current Motors, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in water-current motors, and has for its object the presentation of a means for utilizing and transmitting the power of a current of water for mechanical purposes by placing in a river or running stream of water, a rotatable frame with a series of paddles or blades mounted thereon.

The invention also has for its object the furnishing of means for the control of the motor, and its movements from the shore, and presents a novel construction and arrangements of parts, fully explained in the description and claims, and illustrated by the drawings, wherein,-

Figure 1 represents a vertical, rear elevation of the invention, the steering devices being omitted. Fig. 2 is a plan view of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a detail of Fig. 1, being a perspective view, to illustrate arrangement of supporting arms. Fig. 4 represents a detail of Fig. 1, showing the manner of mounting the paddles or blades. Fig. 5 is a detail of Fig. 1 to illustrate the mounting of the central or double sprocket. Fig. 6 represents a perspective view, illustrating holding means upon the shore. Fig. 7 represents a plan view of pulley and mechanism connected therewith. Fig. 8 represents a plan view of steering means, and relative position of parts. Fig. 9 is intended to illustrate steering means upon Fig. 10 represents a vertical elevation of shaft 1 and the arrangement of sleeve thereon, a part of the figure being in section.

I mount the revoluble central shaft 1 vertically in suitable bearings, said bearings being the pivotal mountings c and (Z (Fig. 1), upon the upper and lower horizontally eX- tending supportingmembers 2 and 3. Integrally upon shaft 1 are mounted radiallyextending sustaining arms in pairs, as the upper arms 4, 5, 6 and 7 (Fig. 2), and, upon said shaft below these arms and also integrally mounted thereon I mount corresponding arms 4, 5, 6 and 7 (Figs' 1, 2 and 3). Between each upper and lower arm, near the outer ends thereof, I rigidly mount upon each vertical bladesustaining shaft 12 (Figs. 1 and 2) one of the series of blades 8, 9, 10 and 11, as shown by Fig. 4; and between the upper edge of each blade and each upper arm I mount rigidly upon each shaft 12, the respective sprocket-wheels 13, 14, and 16 (Figs. 1 and 2). Sprocket-wheels 13 and 14 are mounted upon the same horizontal alinement, and sprocket-wheels 15 and 16 oocupy a horizontal plane slightly higher than sprocket-wheels 13 and 14 and upon shaft 1 is mounted, revoluble, the double sprocketwheel 21 having the annular grooves 17 and 18 (Figs. 5 and 10); the groove 17 is on the same plane as sprocket-wheels 15 and 16, and groove 18 is on the same plane as sprocketwheels 13 and 14; sprocket chain 19 connects wheels 15 and 16 with groove 17, and sprocket-chain 20 connects wheels 13 and 14 with groove 18, of sprocket-wheel 21 (Fig. 2) and integrally upon arms 4, 5, 6 and 7 is constructed the pulley 22 upon the periphery of which is mounted the band or cable 23, (Figs. 1 and 2).

The purpose of the construction thus described is to obtain a rotation of shaft 1 from the driving force of a current of water against the blades 8, 9, 10 and 11, thereby causing rotation of the pulley 22. The blades, as well as parts of the framework are preferably constructed of wood, but since iron is used for shafts, wheels and some of the other parts, I employ floats 24 and 25 (Figs. 1, 2 and 6). These floats are preferably in the form of boats or rectangularly-formed soows having flat bottoms 26, the sides 27 and ends 28 and 28 (Fig. 2), and each scow is pivotally mounted as at 29 and 29, and horizontally positioned between members 2 and 3, one float being upon either side of the rotatable mechanism hereinbefore described; and the floats are adapted to prevent immersion of the several parts beyond a depth, substantially, as indicated by the broken line a b of Fig. 1.

The floats and attached mechanism are placed in the current of water, as the stream shaft of each blade is free to rotate upon its pivotal mounting a (Fig. 4), subject to the control of the sproc 'ret-chain with which it is connected. While each blade is adapted to rotate in this manner, the relative position to eachother of shafts 12, remain unchanged, by reason of the sprocket-chain connections 19 and 20, which connect sprocket 21 upon the central vertical shaft with each sprocket- Wheel upon shafts 12. WVhile pulley 22 and the frame or arms upon which it is secured have a rotative movement in common, blades 8, 9, 10 and 11 are positioned. so that said blades present side surfaces transverse to the direction of the stream while moving rear- Ward, and at other times are disposed substantially parallel with the stream. The arrangement for a control of the sprockets, as pairs, upon shafts 12 by means of chains 19 and 20 as shown, is an advantage, economically considered, and by this construction the chains operate with less degree of friction, comparatively considered.

.By this construction, it is seen, a power is imparted to pulley 22 from a passing sheet or current of water, simply by a control of the relative position of the rotating blades. It is desirable, generally, to employ the power and movement obtained by the invention, at a distance from the mechanism described, as, for instance upon the shore of the stream, and any suitable station may be selected upon the shore, above or upstream from the mechanism mentioned, and by means of devices now to be described a full control of this mechanism and floats, and a transmission of motion may be effected from the shore. At such selected station I construct a suitable anchorage adapted to maintain the scows or floats in a stationary position with reference to the moving current, as, for instance, the Windlass 31 securely grounded upon the bank of the stream (Fig. 6), and I employ the cable 32, the latter extending from the Windlass 31 to the floats 24 and 25, one end of the cable being wound upon windlass 31, the opposite end terminating in the ends 33 and 34 (Figs. 2 and 6), the cable ends 33 and 34 being attached to the ends of member 3 at 35 and at 36, respectively; and upon the shore, preferably in the near vicinity of Windlass 31, I mount the pulley 37 (Fig. 7); ulley 37 is mounted upon suitable bearings for rotation, and in any suitable frame, such frame being grounded or anchored in a manner so that pulley 37 will sustain the strain of the endless-cable 23 mounted thereon. Cable 23 extends from pulley 37 to pulley 22 upon the floats; pulley 37 is provided with gear teeth 38 upon its upper rim adapted to engage the pinion 39 which communicates motion, by means of shaft 41, to pulley 40, and pulley 40 may operate any desired machinery.

The tension of cable 23 upon pulleys 37 and 22 is regulated by Windlass 31, and cable 32 is lengthened whenever a greater tension of cable 23 is desired.

In order that the location of the floats between shores may be under control, a connection is made by means'of rods 42 and 43 (Fig. 2), these rods being pivotally mounted at 44 and 45 upon the ends 23 and 28 of the floats. Since the floats are free to r0- tateupon their central pivotal mountings 29 and 29, they will move in unison under control of any suitable steering gear, as by rudder 54, suitably mounted upon one of the floats, and may be guided from the shore station by the operator, as by the use of cables 46 and 47 attached in any suitable manner to the wheel 55 of the rudder, these cables being operated by a Windlass 48 at the shore station, as suggested by Fig. 9. In navigable streams this control is quite necessary, to cause the apparatus to move out of the course of passing vessels, and the control is needed to prevent collision of the floats with passing flood-wood or other obstructions upon the surface of a stream. Power may be electrically transmitted direct from the floats Without use of the long cable 23, if desired. When not in operation, the blades may be locked in a stationary position with reference to the arms 4, 5, 6 and 7, and the mechanism will remain at rest, and, for this purpose the sleeve 49 (Fig. 10) is provided, bolted to the sprocket-wheel 21, and extended upward through member 2 this sleeve furnishes a suitable bearing for shaft 1. Rigidly mounted upon the sleeve 49 is the pinion wheel 50, the rotating and locking movement of pinion 50 and of shaft 1 being controlled by the crank 52 and ratchet-wheel 51, and by any suitable pawl, as the pawl 53.

The invention may be employed in tidewaters or in any moving stream and therefore utilizes a force in nature not needed for other purposes, resultin in economy and usefulness. It is considered that various minor changes in the details of construction may be made without departing from the scope of the invention, said scope beingdetermined by the claims.

What I claim as my invention is,'

1. In a water current motor, the combina tion' with rectangularly formed floats having their adjacent ends pivotally connected and provided with an upper and a lower horizontally-extending supporting member cen trally and pivotally secured 'thereon, of a centralvertical shaft mounted intermediate said rectangularly formed floats between said upper and lower horizontally extending supporting members and having near its upper and lower ends radially-extending sustaining-arms secured thereon; blade-sustaining shafts; each of said blade-sustaining shafts being vertically disposed and having its ends pivotally mounted upon said radiallyextending sustaining arms and having a vertically disposed blade secured. thereon; the sprocket 21 pivotally mounted upon said central vertical shaft; the sprockets 13, 14, 15 and 16 rigidly mounted upon the bladesustaining shafts; the chain-member 19 upon sprocket 21 and having a connection with and to control the rotative movement of sprockets 15 and 16, and the chain-member 20 upon sprocket 21 having aconnection with and to control the rotative movement of sprockets 13 and 14, substantially as shown and described.

2. The combination with adjacently-disposed floats pivotally mounted between upper and lower horizontally-extending supporting-members, of a central vertical shaft mounted intermediate the floats between said upper and lower horizontally-extending supporting-menrbers and having near its upper and lower ends radially-extending sustaining-arms secured thereon; blade-sustaining shafts arranged in pairs; each of said blade-sustaining shafts being vertically disposed and having its ends pivotally mounted upon said radially-extending sustaining-arms and having a vertically-disposed blade and a blade-controlling s rocket secured thereon; a sprocket pivotal y mounted upon said central vertical shaft and having chain members thereon; each of the chain members upon the sprocket of the central vertical shaft extended to a" connection with and to control the revoluble movement of one of the pairs of said blade-controlling sprockets of the blade-sustaining shafts.

3. In a device of the character described, the combination with a centrally disposed shaft of sprocket Wheels mounted upon said shaft, a plurality of blade sustaining shafts, horizontally disposed sustaining arms rotating with the central shaft, said blade sustaining shafts being vertically disposed for rotation in said horizontally disposed sustaining arms, sprocket wheels carried by said blade sustaining shafts, blades carried by said blade sustaining shafts, and a plurality of sprocket chains, each of said chains pass ing over a plurality of the sprocket wheels that are carried by the blade sustaining shafts and also passing over one of the sprocket wheels carried by the centrally disposed shaft, a horizontally disposeddriving member rotating bodily with the horizontally disposed sustaining arms, a frame in which the centrally disposed shaft is mounted for rotation and floats pivotally connected to said frame. I

4. In a device of the character described, the combination with a centrally disposed shaft of sprocket wheels mounted upon said shaft, a plurality of blade sustaining shafts, horizontally disposed sustaining arms rotating with the central shaft, said blade sustaining shafts being vertically disposed for rotation in said horizontally disposed sustaining arms, sprocket wheels carried by said blade sustaining shafts, blades carried by said blade sustaining shafts, a plurality of sprocket chains, each of said chains passing over a plurality of the sprocket wheels that are carried by the blade sustaining shafts and also passing over one of the sprocket Wheels carried by the centrally disposed shaft, a frame in which the centrally disposed shaft is mounted for rotation, floats pivotally connected to said frame, means connecting said floats to cause them to move in unison and means for steering said floats from a distant point. 4

In testimony whereof I have afliXed my signature in presence of two witnesses.

JOHN H. RISCHE.

Witnesses:

ARTHUR STURGES, H. A. Srunens. 

